Pathogenomic analysis of the common bovine Staphylococcus aureus clone (ET3): emergence of a virulent subtype with potential risk to public health.

Abstract

A common clone (ET3) of Staphylococcus aureus is responsible for a large proportion of cases of bovine mastitis and occasionally causes zoonotic infections of humans. In the present study, we report the identification of a virulent clonal subtype (ST151) of ET3, which resulted in increased tissue damage and mortality in a mouse model of mastitis. ST151 has undergone extensive diversification in virulence and regulatory-gene content, including the acquisition of genetic elements encoding toxins not made by other ET3 strains. Furthermore, ST151 had elevated levels of RNAIII and cytolytic toxin-gene expression, consistent with the enhanced virulence observed during experimental infection. Previously, the ST151 clone was shown to be hypersusceptible to the acquisition of vancomycin-resistance genes from Enterococcus spp. Taken together, these data indicate the emergence of a virulent subtype of the common ET3 clone, which could present an enhanced risk to public health.

• Authors: Caitriona M Guinane, Daniel E Sturdevant, Lisa Herron-Olson, Michael Otto, Davida S Smyth, Amer E Villaruz, Vivek Kapur, Patrick J Hartigan, Cyril J Smyth, J Ross Fitzgerald
• Journal: The Journal of infectious diseases (J Infect Dis) Vol. 197 Issue 2 Pg. 205-13 (Jan 15 2008) ISSN: 0022-1899 [Print] United States
• PMID: 18177250 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Bacterial Proteins
• Bacterial Toxins
• RNA, Bacterial
• RNAIII, Staphylococcus aureus

Topics

• Animals
• Bacterial Proteins (genetics, metabolism)
• Bacterial Toxins (genetics, metabolism)
• Cattle
• Female
• Gene Expression Profiling
• Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
• Mammary Glands, Animal (microbiology, pathology)
• Mastitis, Bovine (microbiology, mortality, pathology)
• Mice
• Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
• Public Health
• RNA, Bacterial (genetics, metabolism)
• Risk Factors
• Staphylococcal Infections (microbiology, mortality, pathology)
• Staphylococcus aureus (classification, genetics, pathogenicity)
• Virulence